Williamson leaves his mark on all songs
Sires | 10/05/1998
(3 out of 5 stars)
""A Job of Journey Work" is a fine collection of traditionals, all of which are meaningful to Williamson himself - as he states in the accompanying booklet, which also features a rare family portrait and a photo of a beaming Robin posing with his wife Bina. All 18 songs get the familiar Williamson treatment, some with more surprising arrangements than others. His family members also have a part to play on this cd, most notably his wife and daughter. Their vocal contributions, though charming, only fare well with "Hard times in Old England", I'm afraid.For me, the winners in this collection are "William Taylor", "The May Morning Dew", "A Job of Journey Work", "The Banks of Bunclody", "Rothesay Bay" and the more unusual "Brown Skin Girl". Some songs are a marriage between the tune of one song and the lyrics of another - but why ? And is this a sound strategy ?In all, this is a very enjoyable cd which all Williamson fans should buy (they've got a lot to buy these days)- but I hope he considers this a nice diversion and continues on the tale-telling track of "Mirrorman's Sequences" and "Gems of Celtic Story" - for it seems to me that after his great and glorious journeys into the realm of Music, he must inevitably turn towards his homeland - the Land of Myth and Story.Hans Wigman"
Williamson's Rough Bardic Voice Enchants
Sires | It's a Toss Up Right Now | 09/01/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I received this CD 2 days ago and have listed to it four times already. I first ran into Robin williamson on the Flying Fish Label with his Songs of Love and Parting. I found myself enjoying Williamson's smokey voice-- I would call it a whiskey voice-- melodic but with a distinct burr to the edge. It works very well to make this collection of traditional songs a very pleasurable listening experience"